UPS Jury Duty Pay: What Article 29 Says About Getting Paid

By TeamstersGPT · Published July 31, 2026

How UPS Teamsters get paid for jury duty under Article 29 of the National Master Agreement — pay guarantees, reporting rules, and how it counts toward benefits.

If you're a UPS Teamster and you get a jury summons, you don't have to choose between doing your civic duty and losing a day's pay. Your contract has clear rules on jury duty — who gets excused, how much you get paid, and when you still have to report to work. Here's what the National Master UPS Agreement actually says.

The core rule: seniority employees get excused and paid

When seniority employees are called for jury duty, they are excused from their regular duties on the days they are required to appear in court or comply with jury rules that keep them from working [2]. This is spelled out in Article 29, Section 1 of the National Master UPS Agreement.

For any regularly scheduled workday where you're granted time off for jury service:

  • Full-time employees are paid their guarantee [1][2].
  • Part-time employees receive four (4) hours' pay at their straight-time hourly rate [1].

That pay is reduced by "any amount received as a jury duty fee if such fees are defined as wages under applicable laws" [1]. In plain terms, the court pays jurors a small daily fee. Where the law treats that fee as wages, UPS can subtract it from what it owes you so you aren't paid twice for the same time.

Note that this benefit is tied to seniority — the contract language specifically says "seniority employees" [2]. If you're still in your probationary period, talk to your steward about how the rule applies to you.

You must turn in proof

To get paid, you have to give the Employer "adequate proof of their jury duty service and compensation, if any" [1]. Keep every piece of paper the court gives you — your summons, sign-in slips, and any check or stub showing the juror fee. Without proof, UPS can hold the pay.

When you still have to report to work

The contract doesn't automatically give you the whole day off from UPS just because you served on a jury. Whether you report depends on your shift and when the court releases you [1]:

  • Day-shift employees are not required to report on a jury day unless they're released from jury duty at least six (6) hours before the end of their regular shift. If that happens, you get two (2) hours from the time you're released to report and work the rest of your shift [1].
  • Employees on any shift other than day shift are not required to report unless they're released at least four (4) hours before their regular start time — and only if finishing the shift would leave at least ten (10) hours before they must report for jury duty the next day [1].
  • Regardless of the above, no employee working other than a day shift will be required to report to work on a night if they served jury duty that day and that service prevents them from reporting [1].

If you do return and work past your regularly scheduled workday, those extra hours are paid at the applicable overtime rate [1].

The Employer should adjust your schedule to avoid losing extra days

The contract says your schedule "will be adjusted by the Employer when possible to avoid a situation in which the employee otherwise misses more than one day of work for any day of jury duty" [1]. The intent is that one day of jury service shouldn't cost you two days of work.

Jury duty during a scheduled vacation week

If you're required to report for jury duty during a week of previously scheduled vacation, you may select another available week of vacation [1]. You don't have to burn a vacation week sitting in a courthouse.

Jury duty counts as time worked for your benefits

This is an important detail members often miss. Time spent on jury duty service is considered time worked for purposes of [1][3]:

  • Employer contributions to health & welfare and pension plans
  • Vacation eligibility and payment
  • Holidays and seniority

This is applied "in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Supplemental Agreements, Riders and Addenda" [3]. In the Southwest Package/Sort Rider, jury duty pay is likewise counted as "time worked" toward trust fund and pension calculations, though no payment is made for unused benefits in cases of separation from the company [7][8].

Importantly, Article 29 states that "the language contained in this Article will supersede any provision in any Supplement, Rider or Addendum" [3] — so the national jury-duty rule is the floor everyone works from.

What your supplement and riders say

Many riders and supplements don't restate the jury duty rule — they simply point back to the national language. For example:

  • The Southwest Package Rider (Section 23) says jury duty "See National Master United Parcel Service Agreement Article 29, Section 1—Jury Duty" [5].
  • The Southwest Sort Rider (Section 33) does the same thing [4].

So for most members in these areas, Article 29 is the jury duty rule [2][3].

A special note for cover/utility drivers

The Southwest Rider has a specific provision for cover drivers: a cover driver "scheduled to work a week in which a named holiday falls or has jury duty or funeral leave" will receive eight (8) hours pay per day at their cover driver rate [9]. If you're a cover driver, that's the number that applies to you during a scheduled week.

Feeder / mileage drivers

For city pair (mileage turn), layover, and sleeper team drivers, jury duty is "paid in accordance with the applicable supplement, rider or addendum" [6] — meaning the specific pay method flows through your local agreement.

General background: the law behind jury duty pay

Beyond your contract, it helps to know the legal backdrop. Generally speaking, this is not from your UPS contract but is useful context:

  • Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are not required to pay employees for time not worked, including jury duty — it's treated as a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee (or the union) [10][12]. Your UPS contract is that agreement, which is why you're covered [1][2].
  • Federal law also forbids any employer from firing, intimidating, or coercing a permanent employee because of federal jury service [14].
  • Some states require employers to pay at least part of jury-duty wages. For example, Colorado requires regular wages up to $50/day for the first three days of juror service [11], and New York requires employers with 10+ employees to pay the first $72/day for the first three days [13]. States like Nevada don't require wage payment but restrict when you can be scheduled around jury service [13].

For UPS Teamsters, the contract typically provides better protection than the bare legal minimum, because it guarantees pay outright [1][2].

What to do next

  • Give UPS advance notice of your summons and keep every document — summons, sign-in slips, and any juror-fee check or stub — so you can meet the proof requirement [1].
  • Know your shift's reporting rule so you're not surprised about whether you owe UPS a partial day [1].
  • If UPS shorts your jury duty pay, doesn't count it toward your benefits, or schedules you in a way that costs you an extra day, talk to your shop steward — these are grievable [1][3].
  • For the exact numbers that apply to your classification, ask TeamstersGPT with your specific supplement or rider selected, since cover drivers, feeder drivers, and part-timers each have their own details [5][6][9].

Sources

  1. National Master UPS Agreement 2023-2028 — Art. 29 · p. 103–104
    y scheduled work- day in which time off for such jury service is granted, full-time employees shall be paid their guarantee and the part-time employee - 94 - Article 29 shall receive four (4) hours’ pay at their straight-time hourly rate, less any amount received as a jury duty…
  2. National Master UPS Agreement 2023-2028 — Art. 27 · § 1 · p. 102–103
    , all parties will cooperate to the utmost to attain such approval. The parties agree that the notice provided herein shall be accepted by all parties - 93 - Article 27 as compliance with the notice requirements of applicable law, so as to permit economic action at the…
  3. National Master UPS Agreement 2023-2028 — Art. 29 · § 2 · p. 104–105
    e week of vacation. Time spent on jury duty service will be considered time worked for purposes of Employer contributions to health & welfare and pen- - 95 - Article 29 sion plans, vacation eligibility and payment, holidays and seniority, in accordance with the applicable…
  4. Southwest Package Rider & Southwest Sort Rider 2023-2028 — Art. 18 · § 8 · p. 42–43
    ECTION 30—RADIOS See National Master United Parcel Service Agreement Article 18, Section 8—Safety and Health Equipment, Accidents and Reports— Radios. - 306 - SECTION 31—PROTECTION OF RIGHTS See National Master United Parcel Service Agreement Article 9— Protection of Rights.…
  5. Southwest Package Rider & Southwest Sort Rider 2023-2028 — Art. 9 · § 20 · p. 118–119
    is Agreement. During the calendar year, monthly and year to date pension con- tributory hours and monies shall be provided upon an employee’s request. - 382 - SECTION 20—LEGAL SERVICES TRUST The Employer shall contribute ten cents ($0.10) per hour, up to a maximum of seventeen…
  6. National Master UPS Agreement 2023-2028 — Art. 43 · § 2 · p. 199–200
    not be subjected to the requirement of providing hourly work to equal ten (10) hours of pay. 4. Destination local work will be the last consideration. - 190 - Article 43 Holidays, personal holiday, paid sick days, funeral leave and jury duty for city pair (mileage turn), layover…
  7. Southwest Package Rider & Southwest Sort Rider 2023-2028 — § 19 · p. 117–118
    ployer Trustees named pursuant to the Trust are its representatives and consents to be bound by the actions and determinations of the Trustees. United - 381 - Parcel Service further agrees to abide by such rules as may be es- tablished by the Trustees of said Trust to facilitate…
  8. Southwest Package Rider & Southwest Sort Rider 2023-2028 — § 23 · p. 34–35
    e with the terms and conditions of the Pacific Coast Benefit Trust Fund, however, these accounts shall have no new contributions as of August 1, 2002. - 298 - SECTION 23—TRUST FUND ACCEPTANCE Overtime hours, production/incentive bonus hours, holidays, float - ing holidays,…
  9. Southwest Package Rider & Southwest Sort Rider 2023-2028 — § will · p. 47–48
    elf create another full-time opening in that classification. Any alleged viola - tion of this section will be subject to the grievance procedure. Cov- - 311 - er drivers will not work if there are any full-time package car driv- ers on layoff within that Local Union’s…
  10. Jury Duty
    The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, including jury duty. This type of benefit is generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative). While federal law does not, some state laws require employers to pay employees who are asked to serve jury duty. ## Webpages on this Topic [...] FAQ Search Breadcrumb Home Leave Benefits Jury Duty # Jury Duty - [x] More in This Section Close
  11. Jury Duty | Department of Labor & Employment
    All regularly employed trial or grand jurors shall be paid regular wages, but not to exceed fifty dollars per day unless by mutual agreement between the employee and employer, by their employers for the first three days of juror service or any part thereof. Regular employment shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment if the employment hours may be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the three-month period preceding the juror's term of service. For [..
  12. Employees’ Rights for Jury Duty Leave by State
    If you work non-standard hours, please work with your manager to plan time off to ensure your schedule doesn’t land before or after jury duty. ## Are employers required to pay for jury duty? Under federal law, employers are not required to pay employees when they serve jury duty. However, some states do have that requirement. To ensure compliance, you should check the specific requirements in the state laws. ## What does California law say about paying employees who serve on jury duty? [...]
  13. Jury duty laws in every US state (2026) | Workforce.com
    ### Nevada In Nevada, employers are not required to pay any wages for time spent serving on a jury. However, they can’t require staff to work within eight hours of the time they’re supposed to serve. Also, on the day of jury duty, employees can’t be required to work between 5:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. ### New York According to New York State laws, employers with ten or more employees must pay the first $72 of the employee’s regular daily wages for the first three days of jury duty. [...] ### Co
  14. Juror Pay
    The Jury Selection and Service Act forbids any employer from firing, intimidating, or coercing any permanent employee because of their federal jury service. Your employer may continue your salary during all or part of your jury service, but federal law does not require an employer to do so. You should check whether your company or employer has a policy for employees serving on jury duty. ## Related Downloads ### Judges Reflect on Jury Service [...] ### Court Records Learn how to file and acc

Frequently asked

How much does UPS pay me for jury duty?
Full-time employees are paid their guarantee for each regularly scheduled workday of jury service, and part-time employees receive four (4) hours at their straight-time hourly rate, minus any court juror fee that counts as wages under the law [#1][#2].
Do I have to report to work after serving jury duty that day?
It depends on your shift. Day-shift workers must report only if released at least 6 hours before shift's end (with 2 hours to get there); non-day-shift workers report only if released at least 4 hours before start and can finish with 10 hours before their next jury report [#1].
Does jury duty count toward my pension and vacation?
Yes. Time on jury duty is treated as time worked for employer health & welfare and pension contributions, vacation eligibility and payment, holidays, and seniority [#1][#3].
What if jury duty falls during my scheduled vacation week?
If you're required to report for jury duty during a previously scheduled vacation week, you may select another available week of vacation instead [#1].
Is UPS legally required to pay for jury duty?
Generally, federal law (the FLSA) does not require employers to pay for jury duty — it's a matter of agreement between employer and employee or union [#10][#12]. Your UPS contract is that agreement, and it guarantees jury-duty pay [#1][#2].

Ask TeamstersGPT with your supplement selected to get the cited article and section for your local.